Seven Things to Get Used to
by Djap
Summary: Dark Ace x Aerrow, 6 and 1 Storm Hawks and their views on the developement of the relationship between these two in the new world after episode 52


**7 THINGS TO GET USED TO**

**A STORM HAWKS FANFICTION**

**AUTHOR**: Djap

**PAIRING**: (Dark) Ace x Aerrow

**GENRE**: First Time, Romance, Humor, Established Relationship

**RATING**: R-NC17

**SUMMARY**: 6 + 1 Storm Hawks and their different views on a new world and a different situation there

**DISCLAIMER**: They're not mine and I won't make any money with them

**LANGUAGE**: English, but it's not my mother language, so if there's any SH beta out there, I'd like her/him to have a go at my story

SO TAKE A GLASS WINE, LIE BACK AND ENJOY

**YOURS DJAP**

*~*~*

**7 things to get used to**

**a Djap story**

*~*~*

The new land: Piper's POV

Oh man, I'm tired. It's unbelievable what happened only in the last month since we came here to this new world on the other side of that dimension door. So much to discover, so many new people and nations to meet.

At first we thought we had found a really quiet and peaceful world, but we soon understood that for the lie it was: On this side existed another war, slightly different from our war at home in Atmos, but full of angst and pain and horror too.

We figured it must have to do something with Cyclonis, which we wanted to look for here to drag her back to Atmos (she was our only return ticket home anyway) but we soon found out, that this had nothing to do with her. This was really a new world and they fought their own war.

It wasn't like home, where the Cyclonian's wanted to rule over and exploit every other Terra on Atmos. It was about resources too, but only about one, which was very rare: crystals.

Of course you can see, that this particular information didn't exactly cheer us up. Without Crystals we weren't able to do much, but it was a bigger horror to hear, that they didn't do mechanics or even metals.

They lived very easy, mostly just as peasants, harvesting their crop and fishing and just being good peaceful neighbours to each other. The only miners they had were those for the crystals and these weren't even for energy - they were kind of in a religious use, because of their ability to glow in the dark.

The one and only nation we met who wanted the crystals for their energy were the Garag'Kra. And believe me - you don't want to meet those. They are the only ones who are able to actually leave their own terra and visit the others - but they don't need rides for it - they have wings.

And they use this ability to rob the other peaceful nations of their precious crystals. They aren't interested to subject the other nations, but they don't want to do the hard mining work either. They are kind of an insect species, looking like big flies and using mostly their teeth and their strength to fight the other people.

But the most depressing thing is that they're kind of a collective. They don't seem to think all by themselves - they look like they were directed by some other source far away and as if only they could hear its secret song. That makes them hard to fight, because everything one of them knows, know all other of them within seconds too.

So we can't use as much traps as we did with in the war against the cyclonians. Most of the time brute strength is the only thing we can hold against them. They're just too intelligent to outfly, especially since they don't have to depend on rides as we do.

So you may ask now, why we are fighting them in the first place. Good question there. Of course we still mainly want to find Cyclonis, to bring her back to our own world - but she seems to have vanished in thin air. No nation we met so far had heard about anybody like her, and we sure can't ask the Garag'Kra about her even though they are the most likely to know about her whereabouts.

But we've been living here for quite a while now and our resources seem to vanish every day a little more. We needed help - but we couldn't pay them anything else than protection. And that's were Finn got his new job.

*~*~*

Diplomacy: Finn's POV

Man, I hate this sometimes. I always could sweet talk most other people into anything I wanted, but this is really getting on my nerves now. Because these nations don't ever leave their own terra they live in their own world - even in their heads.

Some of these actually believe the Garag'Kra to be their gods who come to take the offered crystals. It isn't easy to convince them otherwise, and sometimes I'm just not able to do it. We leave these soon, and try to not come back. At first I thought we had to show them, that the Garag'Kra were evil, but then Junko helped me to understand something important I couldn't see before: These nations weren't unhappy about the Garag'Kra robbing them. They even feel pleased. And since they put up no fight to these giant creepy insects, there is seldom someone hurt. It's almost as if they don't understand the concept of crime.

And Junko was right: Perhaps that wasn't such a bad way to live, especially if that one aspect doesn't prevent you from living a peaceful live.

But there were other nations who thankfully didn't think this way. Those I could handle - at least most of the time. Some of them tried - mostly unsuccessful - to fight the Garag'Kra themselves. These were the nations we could trade with to give us the much needed resources. We didn't only help them to fight the Garag'Kra of, but also helped them building machines to fight against them. We gave them stuff to use for mining and we tried to help establishing an alliance between those fighting terras.

That was the part where I had all hands full of diplomatic sessions between the often very different nations, who had never seen each other before. We helped to build ships to, so that they could at least sail to other terras.

But I managed that one too, until we found the Huggugg. Well, I really had fun with them, I can assure you. They had actual technology and we started to hope, we'd find other nations as well, but we soon found out, that this technology was based on Atmos technology.

At first we cheered: So we had finally found Cyclonis and our stay here seemed to come to an end, but then I got suspicious: These people worshipped their hero, as they kept calling Cyclonis. And there couldn't be anyone else, who wanted to get worshipped, could it?

The Huggugg told us, that their hero fought for them against the Garag'Kra, using a ride similiar to ours. Well, you get suspicious too now, right? That absolutely doesn't sound like Cyclonis after all, does it? Especially since Cyclonis wasn't a man, even when she liked to get called master at home - she was female.

But what man from Atmos might fight like a sky night? We couldn't think of anybody who had probably disappeared into this new world. We would have heard about that, wouldn't we?

We waited on the terra for the return of their hero - in particular because we couldn't go anywhere else without their crystals, because we were running low on resources again - but after three weeks into it people got nervous. Their hero had never been away for so long now, and he had been on a difficult mission this time.

So we tried again to trade with them, offering to help looking for him. Full of sorrow they accepted our offer and pointed out a base of the Garag'Kra on one of Piper's maps, where their hero had gone on his mission.

We soon found it and started to fight the insectoid soldiers there, and because they had lost our trace a month ago we could surprise them enough to rescue him. Even though I never thought I'd see him again. Even though I hoped I'd never see him again. He wore different clothing, and seemed to have lost his laser sword, but everyone of us would have recognized this face and those burning red eyes anywhere. If someone had personally asked me, this man could have rotten in that prison cell forever. But we had promised to help their hero, so rescuing we did. And that's just the problem with diplomacy if you ask me: you have to hold on to your promises if you want to stay in the business.

And man, let me tell you one more thing: Diplomacy sucks.

*~*~*

Mechanics: Stork

My paranoia aside, that's one of the creepiest things ever have happened to me! I still can't believe that this seems to be working. The Dark Ace – I'm talking Cyclonia's-Commander-Of-Doom-The-Dark-Ace here - is working on my ship and helping me with the mechanics. And even more incredulous: the Condor seems to have never run better in her whole life.

Of course I had been against it. Pointing out the doom that he would bring to all of us. Then pointing it out again, if they hadn't gotten it at the first time. But even I had to notice, that something was different with the Cyclonian Commander back then.

Oh, of course he hadn't turned to Mister Nice Guy or something, but there really must have been some kind of change in him. We rescued him and brought him back to the Huggugg, while he kept complaining about it all the time.

Okay, I would have complained too, when I got rescued from one cell, just to stay tied up behind another closed door in the Condor until we would reach our destination.

But then the Garag'Kra found us and we got partly entered – it's not as if I wouldn't have pointed out this possibility like a zillion times, but hey – never mind me and my paranoia - when Dark Ace could free himself and fought wordless at our side, killing our enemies viciously with his bare hands by lack of other weapons.

So okay, we don't usually kill them - we just fight them and if they get hurt while landing hard on the earth or in the water that isn't our problem anymore - but that was probably just who Dark Ace actually was. I think that's something he won't be able to stop - he'd maybe just gone too far into his dark side.

Fact is, he didn't try to escape afterwards. Instead he went wordlessly back to the room in which we kept him before, sat down on his stool, crossed arms and legs and waited with a sour look on his face for us to find him there. Even Aerrow didn't dare to tie him up again, but instead tried to ask him some questions.

"So why do you help the Huggugg? What is in it for you?"

"If I heard right you're doing exactly the same: Trading your abilities for being able to fly."

Well, he had a point there. But Aerrow kept going on

"Is this some stupid new plan from Cyclonis?"

This time Dark Aces usually stoic, smirking or sour face seemed not only surprised but concerned: "What are you talking about? I'm free of her at last!"

"Are you kidding me? Why do you think we are here?"

His face got even more confused: "I thought you are dead as well. I thought, she killed you."

That made us all look at each other: "We're not dead. And so aren't you. This is just a new land, behind a dimension door, which Cyclonis used to escape from us."

"I'm not dead?" He seemed crestfallen. "And she is here, too?"

We nodded and he buried his head in his hands. "Oh, no! Will this never end? Won't I be ever free of her?"

Most of us found that some kind of amusing play Dark Ace was acting there, but Aerrow, our strong leader, didn't think that way. He went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up.

"Maybe she's here now, but it's your decision if you want to be free of her at least: It's not too late. We all thought you to be dead, but it seems, that you got a second chance to better the wrongs you did. And as it seems, you actually did try to do some good things here."

"You shouldn't think to highly of me! I'm nothing but a selfish bastard, always wanting to get the best for me. I thought I was here to prove myself to come in a better afterlife rather than in some kind of hell. I figured this for some last test." Dark Ace spat the words, freeing his shoulder from Aerrow's friendly grip, standing up and pacing the room. "I've never been a nice man, and a pretty boy like you shouldn't trust so easily. I thought you'd learned so much by now..."

But Arerrow wasn't concerned: "I don't think you're a nice man, so much is for sure. But I'm positive, that everyone makes mistakes - even big ones - and can be still a good man. You see the difference her? You don't have to be nice and still you can do the right things. This has nothing to do with youth, only with believe. Because I do believe in people. And probably you were right, at least partly: This can be some last test for you; someone or something gave you a second chance, and now it's your choice, what you'll do with it."

Dark Ace didn't have an answer to that, so after a while, when he seemed in deep brooding thoughts we left his room to bring him back to the Huggugg.

When we reached the Huggugg's Terra Dark Ace was greeted very friendly and loving. He was praised by them so much he seemed kind of shy to let it happen in front of the Storm Hawks. There was one little boy who seemed especially glad to see him and to the surprise of all Storm Hawks Dark Ace - or probably only Ace by now, even in the thoughts of the Storm Hawks - bend down to lift the boy up and cradle him in his arms.

He didn't suddenly start smiling or something, but everyone could see, that he was really fond of the boy, whom was anyway grinning and laughing enough for both of them.

"I missed you Ace!" the boy cried and hugged him tight. "I watched out for your hut and kept patroling as long you were away."

"You promised not to go alone on patrol." Ace rumbled, looking sour. The boy went instantly red behind the ears. "I d... didn't." Ace lifted one eyebrow looking even more intimidating, until the boy looked down with sagging shoulders. "And what did I tell you about lying?" Ace finally drawled.

The small boy shivered with that cold voice. "I shouldn't try to lie to you until I've gotten better at it, because you can see right trough my lies. But... look, it was only once, when we had our monthly celebration and no one else had the time for it with all the preparations to make…"

The little boy babbled, obviously trying to prevent Ace being mad at him. The storm Hawks hold their breaths as they waited for the explosion to come: Dark Ace wasn't known to be easy on his minions when they messed his orders up.

But Ace didn't seem to notice the Storm Hawks anymore at all. Instead he focused intensely on the boy, speaking with a low and chilling voice: "You are the last survivor of your family. You are the one to carry their names for eternity. You are too important to get hurt, while you are still so young. One day you'll be a brave warrior, being able to take revenge on the murderers of your parents. But until then, you have to take care of yourself until you're strong enough. You got that, kid?"

The little boy snivelled, really sad, but he nodded in earnest. "I'm s… sorry." Ace nodded as well, then said "Forgiven. And now go, tomorrow's a school day, and you need your sleep." He ruffled the boys hair, before setting him down on his feet again.

"Good night, Ace."

"Night, kid. Now sleep." And the boy shot away on his feet like an arrow. While the Storm Hawks released their breaths, Ace asked the leader of the village some questions about the safety of the Terra, then, seemingly satisfied about the answers left the clearing without another word. Only after two or three minutes of silent walking he stopped and turned around, only a little dot on the horizon, yelling: "Are you coming, or what?"

We hadn't had to be asked a second time. We were dying out of curiosity to gather more information about this new and somehow improved Dark Ace. Even I was very curious and that has to say something. So I quickly followed the others to the hut the Cyclonian Ex-Commander had disappeared into.

I don't know what exactly I expected it to look inside, but I was really surprised none the less. It was clean and puritanical, not very big but painted in bright colours and had a nice look on the beach. In between the chopped trunk of a tree as some kind of table and on the other hand some improvised army cot flowed a little spring with fresh and clean drink water. It wasn't only some kind of obvious indoor plumbing, it was an improvised fridge too, as we saw, how he took some cooled fruits and some liquid in bottles out of it.

We didn't know what had hit us as he offered us food and drink. Of course I tried to stop them and Ace asked in a menacing voice: "What, are you afraid I'd kill you right here in the fake safety of my own hut?"

"Actually, that would be exactly the thing for you to do." I answered him back as menacing as I could muster. The damn Cyclonian only smirked at that, before chuckling: "Right, sounds like me." then, he took the one bottle which he'd tried earlier to offer me, opened it and drank it down in one go. Aerrow and Junko just shrugged and did the same, before I could stop them. I waited for them to die a cruel and painful death, but for a few minutes nothing happened. While the others started to eat and drink as well, I kept waiting for something to happen.

Finally, when I was sure he'd kill us some other nasty way I wanted to have a go at the food too, but of course Finn just ate the last fruit. Well, what should I say? Story of my life.

So instead I listened to Aerrow ask more questions: "So, why did you invite us to your new home?"

"I don't consider this as my home. My ride is the only real home I'd ever had." Ace seemed to have been so deep in his own thoughts while they were eating, that he'd answered the first thing which had been on his mind. And now he seemed wanting to take it back, but was too stubborn to do it.

"So why don't you fly with us then?"

Ace seemed furious about that suggestions. We'd seated ourselves earlier in lack of enough furniture for us all directly on the sandy floor of the hut, but now Ace sprang up again, before pacing the room: "I must have heard you wrong, stupid boy. You didn't actually offer me to fly with you, did you?"

But Aerrow was his usual calm self, while answering that: "Well, yes. That was exactly what I was asking you. Sounds like a good idea to me."

Ace was still pacing before he growled: "You actually invited the murderer of your father, the destroyer of the old Storm Hawks, the traitor who brought doom on them to fly with your team?" Ace's face looked openly disbelieving.

But Aerrow just nodded seriously. I wanted to say something to that, but actually I couldn't bring myself to intervene between these too. The air seemed to crackle around them. By the look of them, the other Storm Hawks couldn't say anything to that suggestion either.

"Actually I ask if you not only fly with us but join our team as well."

"And why, in all nine hells do you think I'd like to do that?"

"Because there's no better possibility to right the wrongs you did than to join us. Show the universe and every being in it the change in you. Help us find Cyclonis and give her the punishment she deserves before our counsel. After that, you'll really be e free man with a second chance – anywhere you'll choose to live."

With that Aerrow stood up and turned to leave, before he added: "We'll wait for your answer as long as you need to think about it, and we'll accept whatever you'll decide. It's your free decision and I won't force you to anything. I just expect you to be honest to yourself and to us. Good night."

So we left.

Three days later Ace appeared in our kitchen in the Condor, wearing only a few possession, which consisted mostly of food and crystals.

"I'll go with you, but I can't leave the Huggugg behind. I'll help you find her, but under one condition: This Terra is very central, so I'd like this to be some kind of main camp for us. They rely on my strength and aren't strong enough yet to defend themselves."

Aerrow nodded pleased at that. "We needed a camp anyway, I don't see why this one would be a bad choice. Do you want to hear our conditions?"

Ace nodded, still looking sour as ever: "First, I am the leader of this ship and this crew and I won't accept any behaviour against my orders, especially if it endangers any other persons of my team. And second: we take turns in doing the chores. Every one has to do them, including me, so don't try to weasel out. I won't like it. That's it so far."

Aerrow tried his I'm-very-intimidating-posture but Ace seemed unimpressed: "That's all?"

Aerrow was slightly unnerved by that quiet answer but nodded earnestly.

"So what will be my position on this ship, besides fighting on my ride against the Garag'Kra and finding her?"

"I saw some of your inventions down there on Terra Huggugg, and I was very impressed about the ride you constructed for yourself by so few resources. Since most of our problems consists of improvising while repairing the ship with our few resources I thought it best, you'd work on that with Stork, but actually that's not my decision, because I don't now enough about you to decide. So I'll let you decide whether you want to try my suggestion or prefer to help the team in any other way you can think of."

"Engineering's fine by me. I used to do it before I got my position as commander of the Cyclonian army. I used to live here long enough before, so I know the condor by heart."

"Okay, good. Should I show you your room then?

And so the Commander-of-Doom started to work with me. I wonder what kind of horrible and painful death we'll die someday and if he'll have something to do with it. But only time will show.

*~*~*

A hum in the air: Junko's POV

I was the first to notice the differences. I know, people think of me as slow and naïve, but there are things I'm very good at.

In building bombs for example I'm really great. And I can fly my ride pretty good. I make good tasty food as well – at least for other wallops that is. And I can see changes in peoples behaviour.

Since Dark A… since Ace started working with us there is some kind of… I don't know how to describe it otherwise... some kind of new hum in the air. Especially concerning Aerrow.

Surprisingly he didn't start many fights with us. I thought he wouldn't follow orders that easily - especially if they came from Aerrow. But Ace always did, what he was told, contradicting only at these times when he actually had a really better idea and he always helped to run other hits more smoothly instead of questioning the goal of our missions. And since Aerrow was never anything like power mad, he always appreciated good ideas for what they were.

Ace always eats his meals with us, even when he never uses to talk with us about trivial things. He's a quiet man, which I can appreciate. He never babbles useless stuff just to talk and instead prefers to talk only when he actually has something to say. Probably that's because he just so much older than the Rest of us. I know, I know, he actually isn't _that_ much older – but from the point of view of us teenagers he's old.

On the other hand he's still got this bad temper. Sometimes he keeps crashing his bike after a mission had gone wrong, only to work on it till late in the night to repair it and make it as good as new again. I think he needs this outlet for all this bottled up rage he's always carrying around with himself.

I don't want to come between him and his chosen enemies. I think no one of us could handle him just for seconds beside Aerrow. And if he can't get this rage out of his system in these ways you can find him in the training room. He's always working hard to keep in shape. And since Ace came with us Aerrows started to increase his hours in the training room as well. As far as I know no one would try to disturb Ace in there with one bodily exception: Aerrow.

One late evening I found them fighting each other there again, but without any actual weapons. Just man against man with their bare hands. They were kicking and boxing and Aerrow pulled moves I never saw of him before - it nearly looked like Ace was actually teaching him some of them. They were totally intent on each other, never noticing me watching them.

They went at it for over two hours, while I kept checking in on them, before finally stopping and heading for the showers - without saying any words at all. It seemed as if they could talk to each other without words. That made me glad, because Aerrow had always been more the quiet type too.

Another time I found them working together on their rides. Radarr was with them, helping both of them with the right tools. That surprised me too, because I thought Radarr hated how much time Aerrow and Ace had started to spend with each other. He'd always growled at Ace at the start but he seamed at ease with the two of them by now.

Suddenly Ace spoke up, but I couldn't get the exact words, only that he smirked while saying them and that Aerrow started chuckling afterwards. Radarr looked sour for a moment, but then he checked his reflection in the mirror and started making snickering noises too.

I didn't believe my eyes for a moment when instead of Aerrow helping Radarr clean his face from the dirt, Ace went down on one knee and used a handkerchief to assist Aerrow's copilot. And Radarr for once didn't bite him or hurt him in any other possible way for doing that. No one else would try such a stunt with him - only Aerrow was usually allowed to touch him so freely. But afterwards Radarr just checked his face in the reflecting chrome of the ride again and seemingly satisfied got back to work.

Of course no one believed me that there feelings were developing between Aerrow and Ace. They all thought I'd had an acute case of hallucinations. But I didn't. It was there, some strange kind of attraction between them. And it was growing more and more each day.

I saw them look at each other when they thought the other wouldn't catch them. Especially if they wore less than their usual attire at hot days or on mini vacations on the beach. And yes - we all were surprised that Ace suddenly started to come with us on such trips although we didn't see him for the kind of man who'd enjoy our thoughtless vacation banter. But when I saw him checking Aerrow out in his trunks, there suddenly wasn't anything strange about his behaviour anymore – at least not in my knowing mind.

Needless to say I can smell it too. Wallop's have really good noses, so we can often smell things which humans wouldn't in a million years. And after a while I really knew I wasn't hallucinating. And because Merb noses are also better then human noses even Stork couldn't ignore it anymore as over the time the smell between these two grew stronger and stronger.

He finally gave me that panicked look, but I just shrugged. This was their decision to make - not mine. And if Aerrow wanted to play with the fire – who were we to try to stop him. He wouldn't be our strong leader anymore if he would stop being who he actually is.

And then, one deep, dark night they came out to us – although not out of their own free will. Probably it was some kind of fate making their relationship official and known to everyone else on the ship. It was in the middle of the night when the Garag'Kra started their next attack on the Condor and most of us were sleeping.

But I saw them on my night watch and I instantly tried to wake everyone up. I couldn't use the alarm as usual, because I didn't want to show the Garag'kra yet, that we'd noticed them, to surprise them with our counter attack. So I tiptoed down to the quarters and knocked on everyone's door. Piper and Stork came instantly awake and helped me wake Finn up who sleeps really deep. After that we tried Ace's room but found it empty.

Piper and Stork wanted to try in the meanwhile Aerrow's room, but they hadn't had much luck yet, because Radarr was acting very strange. He seemed to prevent everybody from entering the room right now. So we just listened at the door and Radarr sighed deeply as we could hear muffled sounds. It sounded as if Aerrow was already fighting a Garag'Kra. Suddenly I knew what was going on, but the other two were too quick for me: They knocked loudly and made themselves ready to rush to Aerrow's help, as the door was suddenly ripped open by a panting Ace growling with menace:

"Can't two guys have at least a little privacy here in the fucking middle of the night?"

Well, everyone was shocked. Even Stork and I were.

Dark Ace himself was still panting – something he actually never did while fighting – he wore only his trousers and no shirt, socks or shoes. He looked sweaty, had glistening lips and besides his old badly healed scars on his upper body which we all new from our short vacations on the beach - three deep bloody scratches on his right shoulderblade looking suspiciously like new scratches from fingernails.

Aerrow on the other hand stood directly behind him, right in his personal space wearing only his trousers as well and had not only one, but two bitemarks on his usually fair skin of his collarbone and his neck. Plus, he looked kind of guilty, perhaps because he'd not yet told us about their relationship.

Finally I was the first to get over the shock and brought us back from the twilight zone to reality: "We're under attack. Garag'kra are trying to conquer the Condor."

Aerrow instantly started to run for his bike, but Ace grabbed him by the elastic waist of his trousers and stopped him. "What?" Aerrow hissed, but Ace just threw his shirt at him and his blades and shoes before he grabbed his own shirt, shoes and new laser sword, which he'd constructed all by himself.

Aerrow blushed deeply, murmured a "Oh, thanks.", before dressing him quickly. Then he suddenly blushed deeper, before taking a deep breath and planting a light kiss on Ace mouth in front of our unbelieving eyes. Ace seemed surprised by that, but somehow unconcerned. That actually was a surprise for me too: I thought the usual dark and silent man was the cause why we didn't know about their relationship yet from themselves. But obviously it was Aerrow who had feared our reactions.

I'm really interested in how all this will develop in the future. But now, first things first – we had to deal with our enemy. And after that I'll remember Finn to give me my fifty bucks, which I won just right this moment.

*~*~*

Jaelousy: Radarr's POV

I know most people find it weirdly strange how I always cling to Aerrow. I just feel most safe if I can touch him in any way. It feels like home every time I can hop on his back and hug him as much as I want.

I know I'm no human being. I don't even know exactly what I am. At the orphanage where I grew up, they always told me that I must have come from some unknown Terra in Atmos. Seeing this new world we currently found thanks to Cyclonis I think I might be from even farther away than that.

So there's no one else like me in Atmos as far as I know and the most depressing thing always was, that I can't talk like humans. Believe me, I tried for a really long and a really hard time. But the other children at the orphanage always made fun of me for it, so one day I stopped trying. That is all except for one. There was this other boy, red hair, piercing green eyes and slightly younger than me.

He was always on my side. And I'll always be grateful for that fact. The day he came to us, he saw how bad the other children treated me, because I was so different from them and he decided right away to become my best friend. So from one day to the other we were inseparable and never found without the other. He even learned to understand my own language really quick, which still consists of making faces and miming.

We even started always sleeping in the same bed although the sisters at the orphanage tried their very best to stop us from doing it. But whatever they tried, it never worked out.

When we grew older I started to understand why the sisters kept being so angry about us sharing the same bed every night. They feared that would make us gay one day. Well let me tell you this now: I'm not into humans. I love him very much, but I would never want to have sex with him. There was actually a time long ago, when I thought I was probably in love with Aerrow, but soon I had to learn, that I'd just confused deep friendship and gratitude with love.

Besides I'd prefer to have a sexual relationship with something more furry if you get my drift here. And with someone slightly smaller if you understand that as well. So this is less a question about gender, but more about species. Not that I'd mind any interspecies or gay relationships for that matter. Of course I don't. It's just not what gets my personal engine running.

So of course I knew that one day I'd have to stop sharing the same sleeping space with Aerrow. Just because we couldn't start a relationship with each other that wouldn't have to mean Aerrow or me wouldn't want to have one at all one day.

We kind of talked it out before we went on the Condor to start our new life as Storm Hawks. At first he found that idea of mine silly and tried to argue against it, but as I didn't gave an inch on the issue he just nodded and did as I wished.

So we restricted our nights together on Sundays and on special events like when one of us had a really bad nightmare, or when we had something to celebrate. But we made sure to still be as near as possible by always sharing rooms directly beside each other.

Everything was fine that way until we reached this new world and found Ace there. As the man joined our team I suddenly started to get jealous. It was as if Aerrow wouldn't need me anymore around him. Of course could I smell the attraction between the two, although I never admitted so to Junko who kept asking. And I also smelled that the attraction was mutual as well. I've always been able to smell it even back in Atmos, when neither of them would ever have done anything about it.

But the worst of the problem was, that Aerrow stopped talking to me. He started having secrets and I felt as if someone had stolen an important part of me. Aerrow was somehow a part of me, even if I knew intellectually that I probably didn't want to know about his new found sexlife.

And believe me, I absolutely knew the day they started their affair. Even when Aerrow may have stopped talking to me, his body didn't. I was so used to grab his muscles, I felt how relaxed they suddenly were. I felt, how Aerrow was thrumming with newfound energy and how he sometimes shuddered only the slightest bit, when these red eyes bore into him, promising more fun between the sheets to come, without ever having to consult the lips to say it out loud.

But really, that wasn't what made me so jealous. It was just loosing my best friend that made me so angry and confused. It felt like loosing the only home I'd ever gotten. In fact I was really happy for him that he was able to be with the one he obviously wanted so much.

But then, one Sunday it happened. He forgot about our sleeping arrangements. It was two weeks into their affair when I came as usual with my pillow under one arm and my sheets under the other to his door, which I opened without thinking about it further, when I saw them.

Gladly I couldn't see too much, because I had only a good view on Ace's backside, who leaned over Aerrow blocking him from my view nearly completely. They were under the sheets, kissing each other demanding and I felt as if someone had ripped my heart apart. Of course I had known they were doing it, and of course I knew they were doing it here, because I could smell Ace on the sheets if I slept there, but actually seeing it was just too much.

Especially if you had tried to confront your best friend with your knowledge but who still hadn't been able to tell you the truth.

I slammed the door shut, unable to stop my sudden crying, and fled to my room. Inside I could hear Aerrow swear on the other side of the wall: "Shit, it's Sunday. I forgot Radarr…" and heard him rummage around, before he left his room and knocked heavily on my door.

Of course I didn't answer his knocks. Instead of opening I just kept crying and hissed at him angry.

"Look, Radarr, I just forgot. I'm so sorry. And… and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I just couldn't. Please, open the door…"

He kept knocking, but I just couldn't see him then. The wound was too fresh and it hurt too much. He seemed to knew that and finally said: "Let's talk about it tomorrow, please? You hear me?" He sighed loudly, then "Good night, Radarr. Until tomorrow." and went back to his room.

The following day he tried to confront me but I felt like shit and avoided him as good as I could. I hadn't slept at all and as we got attacked by the Garag'kra I'd nearly got ourselves killed if Ace wouldn't have been there to watch our backs. Of course that little fact didn't help my mood at all.

Finally Aerrow did corner me in the corridor and didn't let me escape him anymore.

"Look, I promise never to forget our nights together anymore. I hadn't told Ace why I wanted to be alone on Sundays…"

Well that got better from second to second. Obviously he wasn't only ashamed about his relationship with Ace in front of us, but ashamed of us sharing a bed every Sunday in front of Ace as well. Perhaps he feared Ace mocking him for it, calling him a boy or something again. Gods, how stupid Aerrow could be sometimes.

I gesticulated what I thought of that particular new information he just had decided to confine in me and needed only my middle finger for it.

"please, let me finish before you start insulting me. I told him right last night and he was totally cool with it. Really. He said, that he'd sleep in his own room at these nights and he promised me he wouldn't be jealous at all. So something like that won't happen again, I promise."

I shook my head being really sad about all of this. I didn't want to split them up not even for some nights. It just didn't feel right anymore since I had seen them together. I knew it was selfish to intervene in their relationship in such a way, so I sighed and turned away after having made my decision.

"What 'no'. You can't just do that Radarr. I need you…"

HE needed ME? That was just ridiculous. If that would have been right he wouldn't have forgotten me the night before in the first place. And if that would have been right he would have told me about his relationship himself, which I mimed him as an answer.

"But Radarr…"

I didn't let him finish. I just shoved his arms away and left him standing there alone in the corridor.

I wanted to be strong for both of us now. I wanted to stop being selfish and give him up to make room for Ace. I wanted him to be happy although I still hurt badly. But I hadn't thought about the nightmares.

We both get them sometimes and sometimes they even got triggered by the same events of the day. His are mostly about losing his family, but I don't actually know about what I dream so badly. It must something be about my first three years before I was brought to the orphanage. It's bone chilling and horrifying and I still really don't know how to deal with them alone.

And dealing with all this loss alone must have triggered the one at that night. Over half an hour I lay panicking in my bad having trouble to breath and feeling like I'd suffocate any moment. When I couldn't stand it anymore I swallowed my pride, gathered my pillow and went directly to Aerrows room. I needed nearly half an hour more to actually knock and when I did it was really soft, so under normal circumstances nobody would hear it, but Aerrows answer came directly:

"Come on in already, Radarr."

So he must have heard my screams through the wall. The room was only dimly lit, but as I came in I could see right away that he wasn't alone. But Ace was already looking for his clothes in the dark and made preparations to dress and leave the room.

But he still needed too damn long and I couldn't wait any longer. I started to cry and instantly went to Aerrow, who folded me safely in his arms to whisper nonsense in my ear for helping me getting grounded again. Finally, when I started to put myself back together I felt Ace's hand on my shoulder. I wanted to snarl at him, but didn't do it for Aerrow's sake.

"I really don't mind you sleeping here sometimes." He was sincere, I could feel it deep in my soul. That made me cry again, because I felt so weak about all this. But when I felt him trying to leave I grabbed his hand and stopped him.

I gesticulated that this wasn't his fault and that it was now his right to sleep beside Aerrow and not my own anymore. My friend just wanted to translate that, when Ace surprised us both by answering: obviously he could understand me too.

"I don't mind sharing. If you don't want me to leave I can stay, but you can stay too. I understand this arrangement is only at Sundays and like this, when you had a bad nightmare?"

I nodded my head dumbfounded at his question. Did he really just say what I heard him saying? Was he really suggesting we could sleep these special nights all three here?

"So if we all three have no problems with it, I don't see why we shouldn't go back to bed then. We need our strength for our mission."

I still stared at him wide eyed and disbelieving. While he stripped out of his clothes down to his boxers again, he saw me staring and smirked: "I promise I won't do anything inappropriate to either you or Aerrow if you promise that you don't steal sheets and don't snore. It's really strenuous enough to share a bed with one snoring sleepfighter.

I had to actually grin at that, while Aerrow slapped him lightly on the arm, miming being affronted: "Hey, the snoring sleepfighter's still in the room and can hear you very well."

Ace sat meanwhile on the bed and put the covers back over Aerrow and himself and actually held them open for me to crawl under them.

I still had problems to believe this happening and gestured: "Really?" Both men nodded at the same time and I smiled, shrugged and borrowed under the sheets.

I heard more than felt Ace lying down as well, who put one arm around Aerrow, which lay in the middle, while burying his head near his lovers neck. I curled myself up on Aerrow's other side so we pinned him efficiently between us two, so that he couldn't move too much to prevent him accidentally kicking one of us out of the bed.

We all three sighed, wished each other a good night and went back to sleep as if this would be the most normal thing to do in the world. But before I finally followed my friends in the dreamland I thanked every god, the universe and any other possible existence in this world for letting me keep something I thought I'd eventually loose one day forever.

*~*~*

Coming out of the closet: Aerrow's POV

I still feel bad about lying to my friends for so long. But I just couldn't help it. Actually I had my first real fight with Ace as my lover because I didn't dare to tell my friends. He asked, if I was ashamed of him, and as I failed to answer right away he got really angry.

That was kind of surprising because I figured him to be a real privet person especially concerning his love life. It took me quiet some time to gather all necessary pieces to put this jigsaw puzzle together. You have to know he isn't very forthcoming with information about his past, especially his past as a Sky Knight, but probably you figured that much about him already.

And of course you know that Atmos is still a little bit slow with changing their laws against homosexual relationships. It's no actual crime anymore, but you still got funny looks from many people. So finally I came to understood that my own father, the leader of the former Storm Hawks must have been a homophobe. And as bad as Cyclonia had been in so many other things: it was the one place in Atmos where no one cared about your sexual preferences.

Perhaps that made me so attractive to him – at least back in Atmos: he could corrupt the very son of the man who might have made his life a living hell just because he preferred the wrong gender. I'm still not sure that's all of the story but this might be a large piece of it.

But I prefer to believe, that he likes more on me than this. And that he likes me at all had been very obvious so far.

Our relationship started nearly immediately after he came to the Condor and became a Storm Hawk again. The attraction probably had always been there. I could see it in his eyes, even right back at the start when he defeated me for the first time and decided to let me live. And I think he always knew about my preference for men perhaps right the first second we looked each other in the eyes.

He may not have known back then that I have a preference for older, strong and dangerous men, but I think he got that drift pretty fast too. But as much as I wanted him, even knowing how much he wanted me back, I couldn't do it back in Atmos. It would have been like betraying my parents, even though I lost them so early I nearly don't remember them at all. And he hold back as well even though I'm not totally sure why just yet.

We gave each other these looks, checking the other one out, obviously thinking about all these possibilities, building up tension. And then, one day, we decided to have a short vacation down on the beach of Terra Huggugg.

We all looked very perplexed as Ace stated he'd come too as if it were naturally. We'd asked him the two times before, but so far he'd always refused. So this time he followed us and took camp right beside the fire in a chair, similar to those Stork prefers for such encounters, revealing for the first time his body to our eyes.

He wore only a pair of black swimming trunks, so we all could see his scars. There were so many of them on his torso and legs and most of them were badly healed too. Now I was at least sure why he hadn't come on to me the very first day he joined the team. I could see the insecurity in his eyes, although everyone else seemed oblivious to it.

So I just narrowed my eyes, licked my lips and stared at his white flesh hungrily. That made him grin evilly and he took a book and started reading as if nothing had happened while showing of his muscles in the bright sunlight.

But I on the other hand could play this game too, so I went over to Piper and asked for an Ice Cone. Needless to say I had his full and undivided attention while eating it slowly, worshipping it with my tongue. Finally he even had to hide his bulging shorts under the open book before he could calm himself down again.

I thought, that one would really get him. But the moment he got his control over seemingly independent body parts back, he just put his hands behind his head and relaxed into the chair waiting for an opportunity to pay me back for that cheek.

His payback reached me in form of Piper who had put some music on and tried for the billionth time again to encourage anyone of us to dance. She had been trying this since I know her, but had never had luck with her mission so far. That is, until now.

"Hey Ace, I don't suppose you can dance, or do you?"

"Of course I can dance."

That got everyone's attention until Piper dared to ask another question: "Really?"

"Yes. My father was a very old fashioned man and all his children had to take lessons in dancing."

"So could you teach me?"

"Yes, I could." That smartass, but Piper was to hyped about this news to actually be angry about him being deliberately slow in understanding her.

"Would you like to teach me something then?"

"Yes." Again, everyone was stunned speechless. Did he actually say 'yes' to dancing with her? The Dark Ace? Dancing? Ooookayyy. So naturally I got suspicious and I was right. Although he actually could dance and did teach her some steps and movements to the music he did it only to make her touch him right before my eyes.

He wasn't very obvious about it, but I could see it all along. Thankfully Piper seemed as oblivious to it as everyone else. Even Stork didn't make any nasty doom comments about it.

But then he did go too far by suggesting him being to old to dance with such a young girl, which was a low blow in my direction. I hate it if he starts calling me boy.

"Why don't I teach one of your friends some steps too and you'll be able to force them to dance with you because they can't weasel out anymore by declaring they couldn't dance?"

I don't have to tell you that Piper loved this idea, do I? And of course I don't have to tell you further, that his look kept darting to me, before he came to me and asked:

"So young and brave leader of the Storm Hawks, shall we dance?"

I refused flat out. "Not if the hell freezes over. No way!"

"Come on, it's just like fighting, you'll see."

But I kept refusing. He was so daring standing there and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to control myself. Dancing would mean touching him and he was wearing nothing more than swimming trunks for gods sake. I wouldn't humiliate myself in front of my friends just to his amusement. He could have this victory – I gave up – at least in this round. Even Piper's sulking wouldn't change that.

"I think I'd prefer to go swimming." I finally said and I saw him smirking because he knew he'd won. But as I went down to the sea I saw him teaching Junko some steps who'd obviously volunteered out of his own free will. It looked kind of funny and Ace got some really blue toes afterwards but to give him credit he barely flinched at the mishaps and actually did try to teach Junko some moves too.

As I came back from my few laps in the cold sea everyone was getting ready for dinner. Radarr hopped up on by back but instantly regretted that, because I hadn't dried myself yet. So he shook himself like a wet dog and made a sour face before going back to work at the fire.

I looked around for my former nemesis, but couldn't find him. I was curious where he'd gone to and Finn informed me, that he was away to fetch some fresh fruits for dessert from the Huggugg. That sounded interesting, so I told the team, that I'd go and help him with that. They nodded and off I went.

We practically lived now on this Terra when we were on no mission against the Garag'Kra and most of the people there always loved passing time with us. I greeted most of them friendly and JkaoDuc'njo told me where I could find Ace.

When I finally reached his former hut I could here him talking, but couldn't make out the words. As I came nearer I heard a second voice and figured it for this little boy Ace seemed so fond of. As they heard me they stopped talking and I felt like an intruder as they looked at me:

"Sorry to disturb you both, I'll leave you alone in no time. I just wanted to ask you Ace, if you probably need my help carrying anything."

Ace and the boy looked at each other and it was creepy to see the patented Dark Ace smirk on such a young boy: "Would you help me in my training session Aerrow?"

"Of course, just tell me what I should do."

"Stand over there." Here, Ace took over and instructed me on which moves I should perform. The boy was to defend himself against me, while Ace controlled his balance and fighting stance.

That was actually fun and it gave me more opportunities to watch Ace teaching. He seems to be born for it. Because he is so much older than the rest of us, there are a lot of things he can teach us.

That was by no means a good way of thinking because that led me to wondering, what else he could teach me – especially in the sexual department. Ace choose exactly that moment to end the exercise, while I was still flustered about this not entirely new but still exciting idea.

"That's enough for today. Practice these moves as often as you have time for it. Next week we'll try more difficult ones but only when you've gotten these right." the boy nodded seriously, then said goodbye to both of us before leaving in a hurry.

I felt more then saw Ace's heated gaze on me – obviously me being in fighting action had also had some effects on him. Well, that was interesting and I grinned as I followed him inside his hut where two baskets full of fresh fruits awaited us.

Actually I never made it to grabbing one of those because suddenly it was me who got grabbed around the waist and hauled against the next available surface. So plastered against the hut's wall I got within seconds an armful of hungry looking Ace, who pushed his knee right between my legs while he opened my mouth gracefully with his tongue to plunder it.

Instantly I flushed a deep, dark red all over my face, while trying to respond as good as I could. But considering this was my first kiss ever there wasn't much I knew how to do. Besides I felt kind of betrayed, because everything was happening so fast. I always wished my first kiss to be gentle and loving, but this was nothing less than another fight about leadership.

Well, of course I knew getting it on with the former Dark Ace wouldn't be like endless romance and stuff, but I still kind of hoped… Yeah I know. Stupid. Actually I was pretty sure back then, that he'll just probably want to do it only once, so he would get this strange desire for me out of his system and everything would get back to normal. As normal as it could be with him living on the Condor by now anyway.

That thought suddenly killed my erection very fast and he soon felt my loss of enthusiasm. He broke the kiss and frowned at me, his features only a big question mark: "What is it?"

I couldn't look him in the eyes. I felt shy and humiliated and I don't know what billion other feelings at the same time, but mostly I felt sad because I had the feeling I'd lost him before I even had got chance with him. And just because of my stupid hopes of which I knew, they were useless.

Finally he made me look at him by grabbing my chin and lifting it up to face him. "I thought, this was what you wanted?" I tried to shy away from his intensely burning and hungry look. Gods, was he really that desperate for me? I never saw so many emotions in his face before, even not back then, when we fought each other the last time as enemies. So of course, my hopes came back really fast and I tried to tell him by looking, what I couldn't say to his face.

At first, he didn't seem to understand, but then he groaned suddenly, hugged me hard against his chest and borrowed his head in my neck.

"Of course you had to be pure as the driven snow, didn't you?"

If possible, I blushed even a deeper shade of red and surly matched now my own hair colour. But I nodded in silence and knew that he could feel the movement.

"How in the nine hells did you get the idea to tease me like that, when you didn't have the slightest idea what you were getting yourself into?"

I actually giggled at that. Must have been the hormones or my youth or something like that. After that I just smirked and answered:

"You know, I like to play with fire. That's just who I am. You should know me that well by now."

He stopped embracing me to stare me in my still smiling eyes intensely and with a big question in them: "So what else has been the problem?"

That was harder to answer, but finally I mastered it, even though I felt silly admitting it to this dark, attractive man: "I'm not sure, I would like to be just another notch in your bedpost. So I should warn you – I don't want this to be a one time deal." I don't exactly know what I thought back then: Even if I kind of trusted him about him really helping us fight against Cyclonis I still wasn't sure I could believe everything he told me. He could just lie to me to get into my pants and there wouldn't be anything I could do against it, if he chose so. He could use this to humiliate me in front of my friends, or worse in front of other people back in Atmos.

But instead I chose to trust him, when he answered, grinning like a hunting animal while slightly pressing his knee against my crotch, making me moan softly: "Well, I also don't want this to be a one timer. I mean, there's so much I could teach such a young and inexperienced boy like you…" he purred into my ear while licking its shell. I shivered, moaned again, then felt his hands wander over my bare chest.

I tried to open my eyes again, which had closed on their own account, and saw him looking at me again: Suddenly I got that he'd chosen his words that way to show me, he had been able to read my thoughts about him earlier while training with the boy – even without being some kind of telepath. I moaned again, before he asked me while pinching my left nipple: "So what lesson do you want to learn today, boy?"

Did I tell you I hated it, when he called me a boy? Screw that. I only hate it, if he does it in a non sexual situation. This, on the other hand, was very hot, believe you me.

If I would have been able to actually choose anything out of the thousands of possibilities which crossed my mind in just such a few seconds, I still wouldn't have been able to talk, because my mouth was occupied otherwise when Ace had started plundering it again.

I was very grateful as he didn't mess around too much before getting to the main course: Let's face it, in some ways I am just a teenager and patience isn't one of my strong points – at least it wasn't back than. In the meantime I learned a few lessons from him about that, and I'm very thankful about that too. But back then? It was exactly the right thing to do.

So while still kissing me and stroking with one hand over my bare chest, my nipples and my neck, his other hand seemed to have a mind of her own and wandered right down to cup the growing bulge in my trunks. I appreciated that with moaning and he took this as consent. So he nearly instantly buried his hand in the inside of my swimming trunks.

I yelped, partly, because I hadn't expected that, partly because that was just to much stimulation for my body. Even before he could make the first up and down stroke I came helplessly all over his hand, my belly and inside my shorts.

Afterwards shame kicked in about my lack of control and my knees gave way, so I slid down to the floor leaning against the wall, trying to hide my burning face behind my outstretched arm. I more heard than saw Ace kneeling down beside me, grabbing my chin and making me look at him once again.

I was ready to blurt some excuses and to promise more self control the next time, but actually I couldn't get a word of it out. Instead of mocking me he sat there, patiently waiting for me to open my eyes, and so when I finally did he lifted his hand to his mouth to taste my very essence there.

I swallowed hard, nearly choking, because if I'll ever see something more erotic than that, I'll probably die from a heart attack. God, that was a major turn on, and I felt my soft erection twitch again. He must have seen it too, because he grinned at that before whispering: "I knew it was a good idea to take a younger lover…" before diving in to kiss me hungrily once again.

I could taste myself on his mouth and just minutes earlier that thought would have been kind of gross to me. But now? Really, you should have seen him do it. But on second thought: No you shouldn't. I won't share him anyway, so why get your hopes up, huh? *snicker*

Anyway, back to business here. Right when I collected my courage to actually touch him back to see, if I could get him to moan too, he shoved me slightly away. At first, I was very insecure and feared he wouldn't let me explore him and touch him on my own and that this would be somehow one sided, but then he kissed me reassuringly before whispering: "Not here. You're friend Finn is coming straight for this hut and I'm pretty sure you don't want him to find us here doing that, do you?"

I shook my head, nervously standing up and trying to get my trunks back in right order. Ace did the same, but before we left the hut and before Finn had reached us he grabbed me again to kiss me and whisper sweet promises into my ear, asking, if I'd open him my door, when he'd accidentally stroll by that night.

I don't need to tell you what my answer was to that question, right? Yeah, I thought so.

So that's how all this started between us. And somehow it keeps growing every day more and more. I still sometimes can't get enough of him, taking more and he still can give. It's pretty amazing for someone about whom I used to think that he probably had a black heart.

And for my first relationship I think I'm doing pretty good so far. Of course having a relationship is never easy. In particular the small things can hold problems you never imagined. Like learning that Ace is actually a morning person. Let's just say that I'm not – and leave it at that. We still get into fights about that, although we've learned by now, that morning sex always is a good help to settle these arguments.

Or back the time, when we learned that we have a total different taste in music. It's actually that bad, that I'm never around if he wants to listen to some music and vice versa.

Or when you find out, that your partner has the habit to wear what is most near to his position when he wakes up – and it doesn't interest him if it's his own or probably yours. Even if he looks silly in the clothes because he is half a head larger and still somehow looks better in it than yourself… But I'm getting out of the storyline here again.

It was a surprise to learn how much I could rely on him in really difficult situations. Our first real test being the problem with Radarr. I still sometimes can't believe that it doesn't disturb him at all if Radarr keeps us company some nights. That was a problem I had never considered before and he was so great with everything about it. He just accepted it without another question and although he sometimes makes fun about it to me and Radarr, he never does so in earnest or in front of others.

The second test was our Coming Out to my team. I was really scared about that even though he wanted to tell them straight away. But I just couldn't. I'd never talked with them about my sexuality, although I knew it was no problem with Radarr, which knew it by then anyway, and no problem with Junko, because wallops didn't mind same sex relationships at all. But I didn't know about Merbs, and I never had asked Finn or Piper about what they thought about it so far.

And then, this one night, we got caught by them. Radarr tried to warn us by knocking on our shared wall, so we actually managed to at least dress with our pants before they made ready to storm into my room.

Because he was faster than me he was the one to open the door and talking to them. I felt as if the next possible heart attack was lurking right around the corner. I wanted to tell them everything, to lie, to just tell them to leave, but I couldn't do anything of it. I was kind of paralysed with fear. And my conscience was screaming at me too, that trying to hide it would really hurt Ace this time. And I absolutely didn't want to do that.

So when I tried to run away from the situation and flee by fighting the Garag'Kra, I kind of snapped, as Ace held me back to give me my important fighting stuff. I felt, how much he cared for me and felt as protected by him as never before by anyone.

And suddenly I wanted them to know about us. I wanted to be able to show my affection freely, without the fear of getting caught. And I wanted to show Ace, that it hadn't been him I had been ashamed of, but me. And that I finally had learned to get over myself and that stupid prejudices my mother and the sisters at the orphanage had planted into my head.

So I kissed him in front of their eyes to made this clear for now and ever. I instantly saw how pleased he was about that, although he must have looked the same way to the others. I didn't knew back than how much I was already able to read the slightest differences in his face.

I actually don't want to tell you now about my long and tiring discussions with my team members, who weren't as much concerned about my sexuality as actually about my choice of partner. But that's a different story I'll probably tell you some other time.

Let me just tell you that much: The reward I got from Ace for my courage that night was totally and abso-fuckin-lutely worth it.

*~*~*

**Four things why I fell for my own worst enemy: Ace's POV**

**His Dark side**

I could take his virginity – in more than only one way by now and we're finding new ways nearly every week, but I couldn't actually take his innocence. I couldn't corrupt the 'little boy', which I kept calling him at the beginning, because there was no child in him anymore. It was me who forced him to grew up so early by killing his parents. And still he doesn't hold it against me for one second – not even if he's really angry at me, while we're fighting about stuff.

Still it's his Dark Side I'm drawn to. He actually does know about fighting your own dark side. Most of his friends are still too young to understand what it really means if you're your own worst enemy. He never shows it to them, only Radarr seems to know that Dark Power inside of Aerrow, probably because of them sleeping together and cheering each other up after their nightmares, but I saw it right away back at the beginning.

You don't believe my words? You need an example? Okay, you'll get one. He's the first Sky Knight I know who understands why I usually get a hard on by killing my enemies. And not only that, farther he's always eager to relieve me of that pent up tension in every way he can provide.

And still it doesn't stop there: I'm absolutely sure about his Dark Side and his lost innocence because he's the only person I happen to know, who actually gets a hard on just by watching me killing my enemies.

**His hero-complex**

Most times, when his hero-complex kicks in, I just roll my eyes, sigh and let him do his thing. I keep it like the others, especially like Piper or Radarr, and just watch his back as good as possible, while he does what he thinks he has to do.

But when he tried to bring that thought motive into our very own bed, I've had enough of it. It was the day, before we had our first actual intercourse in our relationship and he just kind of wanted to sacrifice himself once again: By giving his ass up to me to give me pleasure. Because – in his own words – he didn't know yet how else to give me all the pleasure back he was receiving all the time from me.

So he tentatively rolled around and offered me his backside, all tense and waiting to get hurt. I couldn't help it back then. Although I felt kind of pissed off at that 'sacrifice' he tried to make, I just burst out laughing loud and hard. Of course he didn't take that turn of events pretty good, but I managed to apologize and stopped him from leaving to actually show him, what was so funny in my opinion.

I'll never forget the look he'd had on his face, when I grabbed the oil he'd brought for his own 'sacrifice', positioned myself so he'd get a good view and started preparing myself for him. His eyes kept darting forwards and back in between my half erect cock and my fingers working that tight ring of muscles. I knew, what he was thinking – it was plain on his eyes. He had thought, this was about pain only, not about pleasure. About giving yourself away to please the other. To take the pain to make me a present.

It was always very arousing to me how clueless he sometimes actually was. At first I thought it would get on my nerves to have to explain everything before being able to take what I actually wanted – but never so with him.

Sometimes I fear he really wants to try at least everything once, to decide if he'll like it or not. So he's never scared if I propose something new, but instead just nods his consent and lets me get on with it. And there aren't many things yet I did to him he didn't like so far, and I don't think they'll ever be many.

But back to that one night, when I felt his stare on me, while I was preparing myself for him and only that alone made me harder for him every second, although I still kept avoiding my sweet spot so far. When I felt ready, I made signs for him to join me, but that time he actually kept refusing. He still wasn't really convinced that this wouldn't hurt and he didn't want to get the 'good part' again.

So I crawled on all fours over the bed, positioned him sitting against one of the walls and just mounted him. He didn't put up a real fight and that way I could actually do this as slow as I wanted. I watched his face enraptured by these new feelings for as long as I could, memorizing every second for future references.

God, he was so beautiful down there under me and under my control only.

As I slowly started to fuck myself on him I got him to hit my sweet spot and actually moaned out loud. I had nearly forgotten how good this really felt. I might have been able to bed every man I wanted back on Cyclonia, but there was no one I actually could let fuck me. I wouldn't have been able to live it down. The Commander of the whole Cyclonian army taking it up the ass? I would have lost my reputation in their eyes – even with those who knew how good it actually can feel if done the right way and properly prepared.

The moan surprised Aerrow, because I usually had more self control and we'd made it in earlier encounters to some kind of a competition, what he had to do to get a moan out of me. So he stared disbelieving at me, before he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down to ravish my mouth.

Did I appreciate his strength yet? No? Well, I'll do it now then. Because he IS strong. All these hours he spends working out do actually pay off, I can assure you. So he managed nearly effortlessly to turn us without breaking our contact too much that I was afterwards lying on my back and he was the one in control over the motion and still buried deep inside of me.

I nearly purred constantly out of satisfaction from that turn of events because believe me: Aerrow covering half of your body, staring lustful at you and preparing to pound you into the mattress? A good picture there. Definitely a keeper.

He started slow and tentative at first, searching for the right angle to hit my sweet spot again, from which he knew now that he was actually there. When he found it, he actually made me see stars that night and moan quite a lot more.

The next time, Aerrow wanted to introduce something new to our physical relationship, it contained whips and chains and leather. Of course I almost instantly figured that one for his returning hero-complex right away. I wanted to scold him, shake him to make him see that I never wanted to see him suffer for my pleasure in bed.

But than I got a deep look into his very soul through his eyes and suddenly understood and recognized this for something entirely else. Obviously he'd learned his lesson about bringing his hero-complex to our bed. So this was something new he actually wanted to try, and I felt my already half hard erection twitch at that thought with excitement.

So I just smirked and mentioned him to bring it on.

**His power in command**

His power in command is very different from that of Cyclonis or even from that of his father Lightning Strike.

Lighting Strike was a strong leader – even I have to admit to that. No one ever questioned his power or his orders. With the exception of me he was usually friendly to the other team mates, although he had an even more bad temper than myself. You have to know that he wasn't the bright and shining star everyone in Atmos seems to have made out of him.

His brutality in his fights was legendary and similar to my own. So that was actually the only times we did work together well – if you could ask him still, he probably would have told you, that I actually was his best copilot ever – at least until I decided to betray him that is.

But concerning his everyday life he was very old-fashioned and straightforward. He was full of prejudices and never hesitated to tell everyone right away what he thought about everything that happened.

So I followed his orders, because I stupidly and desperately wanted to please him. To show him that not every gay man was some kind of looser who shouldn't be allowed to be a sky knight. I never said anything, as he always gave me the most tiring work or the most dirty one.

I didn't even say anything, when he constantly failed to promote me for four times in a row while all other cadets of my year were knighted before me, even though everyone knew I was the most talented cadet in my whole year. No one dared to contradict him, if he chose to pick on me again – they were just glad that it wasn't them. And so, one day, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Back in his times, there also would never had been a Merb or a Wallop in the team. He never trusted other species except for his own. Actually he didn't trust at all very easily. Probably he may have feared his own shadow, if he would have been bright enough to do so.

And believe me – as much as a good fighter he may have been – he really wasn't the most intelligent man I ever met. If he would have been bright enough to do so, he probably might have been able to understand what utter nonsense he kept telling about every day of his life.

How he ever managed to get a woman pregnant will forever be too much for my understanding. But I'm still glad, that he did, because this brought me Aerrow.

Cyclonis on the other hand seems to be the very personification of intelligence, although you have to throw a good portion of hate, megalomania and egomania into the mix.

Her father, the former Master of Cyclonia, may have wanted to rule all other Terras and rob their resources, but sometimes I believe she actually doesn't care about the world at all. One day, when I was by chance at her presence while she got into one of her famous fits, I suddenly started to fear for all of Atmos and that feeling steadily grew over the years.

I was always loyal to my old Master, after I had betrayed Lighting Strike and the former Storm Hawks. I had taken this decision out of my free will, and I won't try to disguise this. I never questioned his orders, because I chose to do so. He was a stern Master, but he actually never tried to change me into something I wasn't. He didn't care about my privet life as long as I was always there to follow every order.

But when the old Master died and Cyclonis took his throne as his heir, I started to question her sanity in earnest. I tried my best to not betray her. Especially since she was a worthy opponent in manipulating the people around her into anything she wanted. But right to the end she always wanted more of me, than I could give her.

I don't know why she chose me out. There were so many others who would have loved to be her sex toy – and even I have to admit her being sexy in some ways. Probably she chose me because she knew I'd actually never want her. Perhaps she wanted to bind me to her, to secure my loyalty. Perhaps because everyone knew I slept only with other men and she found that to be an oddly promising challenge.

But every tactic she tried out to lure me into her bed, failed miserably. I disarmed every manoeuvre, kept watching my back even in sleep. And I knew she grew more frustrated every day while I felt my loyalty slip more and more. I just couldn't respect her and her actions.

She didn't deserve my respect, because she didn't care about Cyclonia at all. In her world existed only herself and even my soldiers started to grew worried. One day she actually started to change the laws of the Terra Cyclonia although a lot of us had chosen Cyclonia as their home exactly for these.

And then, finally, she got me into her bed. Believe me, that's something I don't ever want to think of again, especially since she used such a bold lie to get her will, that I should just kill myself as penance, because I fell for that shit.

'Only perfect atonement can let the binding flow both ways.' Yeah. Right. When I saw how Aerrow and Piper managed it so effortless I suddenly knew all this had only be a farce to trick me. Because I never questioned Aerrow's sexuality – even back then. I just knew, he would never have touched the girl.

So I took more power. And demanded only more and more. There wasn't anything I wanted to stay here in this world for, so I looked for the quickest way out. I felt the dangerous thrum of the power in my body, I knew, there was only so much more I would be able to take.

But I didn't knew, that it wouldn't actually kill me and would instead fling me into this new world. I desperately tried to get my life back to normal, but I had been too long a mere tool. I didn't knew anymore to exist on my own.

So I wished for a strong leader, someone to look up to, even though I've been disappointed by so many other people in my life so far. I wanted back to the times I worked for my old master – a man I'd had a secret crush on for years, even though I never tried to do anything in that direction.

It's probably just fate that someone so much younger than myself, could give me what I longed for so badly. Aerrow's a lot of things to me and I know, he is anything but perfect. But in my eyes he is at least a perfect leader. He cares deeply for everyone in his team. He always tries to prevent them from getting into trouble, but is never too overprotective of them and always trusts in everyone's abilities.

He knows his own abilities right well, but is always aware of his own faults. Don't get me wrong – he still is very young and makes mistakes. Everyone does – that's just human. But he never expects less of himself then to give his best.

I couldn't think of a better leader to be loyal too. So perhaps my seemingly endless search had finally come to an end and I found my place under his command after all.

His sexy body

This had been another one of his fantasies, although he never actually told me so before. You have to know, he'd never actually touch me in a really inappropriate way (light touches and chaste kisses don't count) if Radarr sleeps with us – he'd never hurt his best friend that way and I respect that decision. But he still seems to have exhibitionistic tendencies and I'm sure he likes the idea of getting caught.

Probably that concerns especially doing the vertical tango with me, because that way he could show everyone that I belong to him now – or probably he wants to make sure everyone knows he belongs to me. Either way, I'm pretty fine with that thought. So I decided to go for what we both wanted, even though he seemed afraid to ask for it. And I further decided to throw another fantasy of mine in the mix as well.

So now, we're here and I can appreciate his sexy body as much as I want to. We both still wear most of our clothes, but I had earlier lifted his shirt over his head to free his chest, while the shirt's still tangled around his arms, because I used it to tie his hands right behind his back onto the handlebars of my skimmer.

And let me tell you one thing: This sight will always be burned into my very soul. The two things in my life, which I appreciate the most are right here, under my control alone. We're both sitting on the seat of my skimmer, his ass on my lap, but still wearing our pants. I'd freed his angry red and already leaking erection a few minutes ago, which is now jutting out of the open V of his pants and I'm still stroking it in what must be to him a maddening slow rhythm.

He's biting his promising red and wet lips to prevent from moaning too loud, so he wouldn't attract at least too much attention to stop me from what I was doing. Initially I had intended to actually fuck him right here, bend over my new skimmer, which I've built with my own hands, but the way he is already nervously wiggling his ass in my lap, I don't think I'll need that extra stimulation anymore. Perhaps next time, who knows.

Alone to watch how freely he lets me do this to him had me so turned on within seconds that I had to use all my willpower not to rush this. All his muscles are tense, while he begs me as silently as he can to finish this, all the while his eyes darting to look around if anybody caught us doing this yet. His head turns for every sound, which seems out of the ordinary, as tiny as it might be, but I see that this isn't doing anything to dampen his excitement.

I see his heart thuds wildly in his chest. I mesmerize the way his ribs show, because his arms are bent behind. God he's beautiful and sexy but most important: he's mine and mine alone.

And I'll never ever let him leave me, that much is for sure.

*~*~*

**Endless End**

**Finished, Germany 1****st**** September 2009**


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